Largest solar farm in the world

Snapped by NASA satellite in January this year, the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China’s Qinghai province now lays claim to the title of ‘largest solar farm in the world’. Covering 27 square kilometres, the solar farm has 850MW of capacity and nearly 4 million solar panels, eclipsing the next largest in Tamil Nadu in India with a capacity of 648MW.

The NASA website describes the title of ‘largest solar farm in the world’ as “a rather short-lived distinction”: In 2014, the Topaz Solar Farm in California topped the list with its 550 MW capacity. They were edged out by Solar Star, also in California, at 579 MW in 2015. By 2016, India’s Kamuthi Solar Power Project in Tamil Nadu was on top with 648 MW of capacity.

As well as largest solar farm, in 2016 China got to claim the title of world’s largest producer of solar power. China’s total installed capacity doubled in 2016 to 77 GW, pushing them well ahead of Germany, Japan and the USA– though NASA notes those other countries produce more solar power per person.

The NASA post concludes: it’s unlikely that Longyangxia will remain the largest solar park in the world for long. A project under development in the Ningxia region in China’s northwest will have a capacity of 2000 MW when finished, according to Bloomberg.